1. The Word of God

We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak. (2 Peter 1:20-21: 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

2. The Trinity

We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that these are equal and perfect in every divine attribute and that they execute distinct and harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. (John 1:1-3; Mark 12:28-31; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; Matthew 28:18-20)

3. God the Father

We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. He concerns Himself in the affairs of men and women, hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (John 4:23-24; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 3:16; 14:15-17)

4. Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, and fully possesses the same nature and attributes as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  He is not only true God, but true Man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  We believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible, pre-millennial return from heaven. (Luke 1:26-38; Colossians 2:9-10; Acts 2:32-33; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

5. Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit, co-equal with the Father and the Son.  We believe in His personality and His work in regeneration, sanctification, and preservation.His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and implement Christ’s work of redeeming the lost. He also empowers the believer for godly living and service through the giving of spiritual gifts. (Ephesians 2:19-22; Romans 8:9-11; John 16:7-11, 16:12-15; 1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 1:13-14)

6. Humanity

We believe God created humanity, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin.  As a result of the fall, all persons are born in the image of Adam and sinners by nature and are, therefore, spiritually dead.  We also believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates those who repent of rejecting Christ, and trust Him as Savior. (The Roman Road: 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:13 is a Gospel presentation; Genesis 1:26-31; Titus 3:4-7; John 3:1-8; Ephesians 2:1-3; Colossians 2:13-14; Luke 18:18-19; Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-18)
 

7. Salvation

We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, and was purchased by Christ on the cross, and received through faith by believing in His name, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12).

8. Sanctification

We believe salvation and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace.  Sanctification is a state of separation unto God; all believers enter into this state when they are born of God.  This is a once-for-ever separation, eternally unto God.  It is an intricate part of our salvation, our connection with Christ.  “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).  The mystery of sanctification is that the perfections of Jesus Christ are imparted to us, not gradually, but instantly.  Sanctification is Christ in every believer. God has good works for every born-again child of His to do, which will glorify the Lord. We believe that rewards are promised according to the faithfulness of each believer in his service to God, and that these rewards will be given at the judgment seat of Christ. (Hebrews 10:10-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 4:20-24; 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Peter 1:5-11; Galatians 5:16-26; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; James 2:18-26; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 5:10)

9. Eternal Security

We believe that because of God’s unchanging purpose, saving grace, divine gift of eternal life, and the unending intercession of Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we and all true believers everywhere, once born again shall be kept saved forever.  If God has saved you, then you cannot lose it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:29-39; 2 Timothy 1:12; Jude 24-25; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

10. The Church

We believe that the Church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head, and composed of all persons who have saving faith in Jesus Christ.  This body expresses itself in local churches comprised of believers in Christ.  The ordinances of the local church are believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper.  We believe that each local church is self-governing in function and free from interference.  We believe that all believers (both men and women) have the privilege and right of direct access to God through Jesus Christ, and that all believers are directly  responsible to God in matters of faith and life. Further, all believers (both men and women) are made in His image (see belief #6), are saved by grace through faith (see belief #7), are gifted for service (see belief #5), and are being conformed to the likeness of Christ (see belief #8). However, all believers do not have the same role in the church. Men and women differ, in that women are not to exercise authority over men, and women are specifically entrusted with the role of encouraging younger women. We believe that church leadership should be comprised of a plurality of spiritually qualified males, appointed by the congregation, some of whom may be ordained. (Ephesians 1:20-23; 4:1-6; Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 1 Timothy 2:5-8; Galatians 2:1-10; Acts 14:21-23; Acts 20:17-38; 1 Timothy 5:17-25; Colossians 3:14-17; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Timothy 3:10; 2:9-15; 1 Corinthians 11:2-12; 14:34-35; Titus 2:3-5)

11. Eternal Things

We believe that Jesus Christ will personally come again in power and glory to receive the Church to Himself and to establish His millennial kingdom.  We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and the lost, and that Jesus Christ will judge both living and the dead.  We believe that the saved will live with Christ eternally in heaven, while the lost will be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. (Revelation 20:1-6; 20:11-15; 1 Corinthians 15:35-50; 15:51-58; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10)

12. Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality

The term "marriage" has only one meaning: a covenant between one man and one woman, n a single exclusive union, by which their status changes from two individuals to one flesh as God joins them together. This covenant creates a new family such that their lifelong primary human loyalty is now to one another before anyone else. It is an earthly covenant between one man and one woman that God created and sanctioned to image the unbreakable heavenly covenant between Christ and His Church, therefore intended not to be broken by anything but death. The authority of Scripture witnesses to the nature of biblical marriage as uniquely bound to the complementarity of man and woman. The Lord Jesus Himself said that marriage was created by God from the beginning, so no human institution has the authority to redefine marriage any more than a human institution has the authority to redefine the gospel, which marriage mysteriously reflects.  

Regarding gender, God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. 

God created sex as a gift to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage. We believe that God intends sexual expression to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of this marriage covenant. We believe that the exercise of sexual expression outside the biblical definition of marriage in any manner, including but not limited to adultery, homosexuality, premarital sex, bisexual conduct, and use of pornography, is contradictory to God’s design for sexuality and marriage.

We will uphold God’s standards in marriage, gender, and sexuality, while also extending grace to those who have fallen in these areas and are repentant. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:15-25; Psalm 139; Malachi 2:16; Matthew 5:27-32; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 6:18; 7:2-5; Ephesians 5:21-33; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Timothy 1:10)